Kelsey DiClaudio, Frame by Frame

What makes Kelsey DiClaudio the world’s most dominant Para ice hockey player?  

Answering that question would likely require a case study, and that is exactly what hockey writer and analyst Daniel Christian Gagné has set out to do. DiClaudio is the first Para ice hockey athlete to be featured on What a Knight!, Gagné’s Substack publication, which offers in-depth analysis of the sport.  

In the lead-up to November's Women's World Championships in Newcastle, Australia, World Para Ice Hockey will publish a series of player analysis focusing on some of the sport's biggest stars. You can read an extract from the Kelsey DiClaudio feature below.

August 31, 2025. 

Dolny Kubin, Slovakia. 

Inaugural Women’s World Para Ice Hockey Championships. 

Canada vs. USA, gold-medal game. 

The first period is in its final minutes with the game still scoreless. 

USA forward and tournament MVP Kelsey DiClaudio collects a loose puck in the corner and attacks Canada’s net. Unable to get to the slot, she skates behind the net and sees that she has a step on goaltender Jessie Gregory as DiClaudio dashes for the far post. 

In Para ice hockey, players use metal-tipped picks on one end of each stick to propel their sleds and the blade end at the other to handle the puck – usually one job at a time. 

DiClaudio decides to use her two sticks for different purposes, flipping the puck with her right stick onto the blade while using her left one to initiate a turn toward the front of the net. She leans her body weight to her right. Gregory completes her post-to-post movement with a diving motion, so DiClaudio flips the puck in the air over Gregory and to the back of the net. 

The tournament's first-ever gold-medal goal, scored in lacrosse-style fashion. 

The flair makes the goal unforgettable, but the skill behind it makes the case for the title of the world’s most dominant player. 

Decoding DiClaudio 

That instinct for the moment didn’t appear from thin air. 

Born on July 22, 1997, Kelsey DiClaudio began playing Para ice hockey at the age of eight due to tethered spinal cord syndrome. Five years later, she was playing with the Pittsburgh Penguins men’s Para ice hockey team in the Inaugural USA Hockey Sled Classic. By 2015, she was the first woman selected to the U.S. Men’s National Development Team. 

Her rapid progression was only a sign of things to come. 

“Kelsey is the best women’s sled player in the world, I would say hands down,” said USA head coach Rose Misiewicz after the gold-medal game. “What she showed here this week with her skills and her leadership is unreal. She drives this team to get going – the intensity, she takes the team on her back, and is really that impact player – every single game.” 

DiClaudio, however, views her leadership through a more understated lens. 

“I would describe my game as creative and decisive,” DiClaudio wrote by email. “I have so much fun on the ice and with my teammates and I want my game to reflect that. I see myself as someone who leads more with my actions rather than words.” 

Her teammate, Monica Quimby, offers a middle ground. 

“Kelsey is a supportive friend, teammate and assistant captain; she wants all members of our team to perform at their best,” wrote Quimby in an email. “She is easily approachable and willing to talk.” 

“She communicates what is needed in the shift and both what went well or what we need to work on,” Quimby continued. “She makes sure that everyone is on top of their game, because she plays with such intensity. It makes us all level up and continue to be the best team we can be.” 

DiClaudio also spoke about the deeper impact the sport has had on her life. 

“The sport itself is just so fast and physical, and it keeps me focused, which I love,” DiClaudio said. “Hockey has allowed me to flourish in ways that I haven’t been able to do in maybe other aspects.” 

Built for Speed 

DiClaudio’s game is built around her skating and making plays off her speed, particularly her ability to sustain it while stickhandling. 

“Skating ability plays a big part in the success of my game and in all elite players’ games,” wrote DiClaudio via email. “I wouldn’t call myself the fastest player in a straight line, but I’m quick on my edges and gain speed and momentum that way. Skating technique is something to always be thinking about.” 

From a standstill, her acceleration takes a standard five hard strides to reach pace. What sets her apart is how she builds and maintains speed once she’s in motion. More than just using her picks, she excels at torquing her upper body in her sled to generate extra momentum, the kind of energy usually reserved for a long list of Starbucks lovers. That speed benefits her team before it even gains possession of the puck because of the forechecking pressure it creates. 

Read the full case study on Kelsey DiClaudio here